MarketWatch Top 10 stories, April 18-22

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Investors faced a shortened week, and trading days that were relatively low-volume thanks to Passover and Good Friday. But on the days they were open, markets provided investors with plenty to trade on.

Many prominent companies reported quarterly results during the week, including Apple and some of the big banks. Financial companies were still showing scars from the recession while many tech companies were sorting out the impact of the massive earthquake that struck Japan last month.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA, -0.05%
closed the shortened week on Thursday with a gain of 52.45 points or 0.4% at 12,505.99. For the week the Blue Chip index added 1.3%. The Nasdaq Composite
COMP, +0.15%
ended Thursday up 17.65 points or 0.6% at 2,820.16 making for a weekly gain of 2%. The benchmark Standard & Poor’s 500
SPX, +0.01%
gained 7.02 points or 0.5% on Thursday to close at 1,337.38. For the week the index was up 1.3%.

Also, please be sure to watch our Week Ahead videos from the U.S., Europe and Asia.

Taking a more negative view

In a move Monday that roiled markets, Standard & Poor’s cut its ratings outlook on the U.S. to negative from stable, lighting a fire under Washington’s deficit-reduction debate. The rating agency effectively gave Washington a two-year deadline to enact meaningful change, just days after House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan and President Barack Obama outlined their plans for slashing debt. S&P nonetheless kept its highest rating, AAA, on the U.S. Read more about S&P’s outlook.

Apple’s blowout quarter

Handily topping Wall Street forecasts, Apple Inc.
AAPL, +1.72%
reported a sharp 95% surge in second-quarter profit, boosted by strong sales of the iPhone and Mac computer line. Sales of Apple’s latest product — the iPad 2 — remain constrained by production limits, but the iPhone was the main driver of earnings growth in the quarter. Read about Apple’s results.

Wall Street gets it wrong on Intel

Intel Corp.’s
INTC, +0.83%
surprising earnings beat raises a question: Why was Wall Street so wrong on the chip maker’s first quarter? Analysts agreed that a key reason for the surprise was conflicting views on trends in the personal-computer market. Read more about Intel’s upside surprise.

Tech, bank stocks may collide

Solid earnings by big tech companies this week ignited technology shares, dispelling concerns about the Japanese earthquake’s impact on future earnings. But can the tech rally lift the financial-services sector out of the doldrums, or will persistent weakness in banks and on Wall Street hobble a U.S. economy that appears ready to run? David Callaway’s betting on the banks playing bogeyman. Read Callaway’s column.

Ugly restructuring options

Restructuring, buybacks or bridge loans. When it comes to Greece, Europe faces a number of choices, none of them pretty, economists say. A controversial 110-billion euro ($160.7 billion) bailout program was put in place a year ago next month. But expectations that the move to help the debt-strapped nation would allow Greece to return to credit markets next year, as originally planned, now appear dashed. Read about Greece’s restructuring choices.

Cloudy forecast for Japan

Japanese earnings season kicks off in earnest next week, with strategists hoping for signs of improvement even as they brace themselves for possible bad news due to last month’s disasters. Instead of cutting their forecasts, many companies will likely hold off on releasing any guidance at all for the business year that began this month, as they continue to gauge the impact of the March 11 earthquake, tsunami and subsequent power shortfalls and production shutdowns. Read about what’s ahead for Japanese companies.

A tumble for Philly Fed

An index of manufacturing sentiment in the Philadelphia area slumped in April to a five-month low, showing growth at a much slower pace, according to a survey released this week. The Philadelphia Fed’s index of current activity tumbled to 18.5 in April after a March reading of 43.4, its highest level since January 1984. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected the gauge to fall to 35.5 in April. Read about the Philly Fed.

Pickup for building

U.S. builders started construction on homes at a faster rate in March and permits to begin new work also rose, but the home-building industry remains mired in its worst slump ever. Housing starts rose 7.2% in March to an annual rate of 549,000, the Commerce Department said. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had expected housing starts to climb to 520,000 in March on a seasonally adjusted basis. In a normal economy, however, more than 1 million new homes are usually built each year. Read more about housing data.

Time to pay off your mortgage?

In a world in which debt is a four-letter word, paying off the home mortgage could be a wise move for many people, providing they take the time to do the math or find a financial adviser who can help. It’s not for everyone, however, and is a step that should not be taken without a lot thought about what your priorities and goals are and what stage of life you’re in. Read more about whether it makes sense to pay off your mortgage.

Intraday Data provided by SIX Financial Information and subject to terms of use.
Historical and current end-of-day data provided by SIX Financial Information.
All quotes are in local exchange time. Real-time last sale data for U.S. stock quotes reflect trades reported through Nasdaq only.
Intraday data delayed at least 15 minutes or per exchange requirements.